"Power" and "Wild Geese"

 

The poems on page one of our Women's Literature packet were really fun to interpret. It was almost like a challenge because when I first read them they didn't make much sense or have much meaning to me. However, as I dissected lines, studied the poems more in depth, and as we had our class discussion, some great interpretations and ideas were brought to the table.

For me, "Power" was the most confusing poem. I though the first stanza was random and didn't follow with the rest of the poem. What is this "one bottle amber"? I also didn't understand the reason for all of the spaces. After hearing the poem read out loud, the spaces made sense. When the reader got to the spaces, they naturally paused, which added emphasis and meaning to what they were saying. It also changed the meaning of some of the lines. For example, this specific line could be said as, "denying her wounds came from the same source as her power"(Rich), or "denying, her wounds came from the same source as her power"(Rich). In our class discussion, we were arguing whether or not the amber represented alcohol or just a made up medicine. I saw it as a medicine because the poem talks of radiation which is a medicine for cancer, but it is also deadly. It was very ironic that the thing that Marie Curie was purifying was the thing that was killing her. I think Marie Curie was a good example of the effect of power, but I think this poem could relate to anything or anyone that has to do with power. The author only says "Marie Curie" once and the rest of the time she says "she" which creates a much more open and general audience. I think the main idea of this poem was that there is a greater power, which is earth, and that no one can control or fully possess power.

To me, compared to the very dark and "jailed" feeling of "Power", "Wild Geese" had a feeling of freedom and hope. I though this poem was beautiful and well written. In my interpretation, this poem is talking about how we all have problems, and yet the world goes on. It talks about everyone being a part of a family. This poem presents a compromise between belonging to something and still having freedom. In our class discussion someone brought up the idea that in this poem it suggests that everyone belongs to something bigger. Also, the author’s use of "you” makes the poem very general and open to a wider audience, similar to "Power". I really like the hope and the unity that this poem presents.

These two poems were great. I really enjoyed reading and interpreting them.